Canada
January 31, 2023
For the first time ever on a Canadian crop protection company website, farmers can rate products, significantly changing how crop producers do research and share knowledge.
“Where better to hear about the effectiveness of a herbicide or insecticide than from a fellow grower who is facing the same pest problems?” asks Krista Henry, Marketing Communications Manager at FMC. “Adding reviews to our website shows our commitment to the customer and our willingness to try new and innovative things to help growers solve problems.”
Whether the review is great, good, or poor, customers will be able to use grower reviews to judge for themselves which FMC products fit best in their situation. Consumers have been relying on unbiased online product reviews for many years to make purchasing decisions, so clearly there is value to hear directly from fellow customers.
“We believe we are the first crop protection company in Canada to offer an online review platform for customers to report on their first-hand experience with an FMC product,” says Henry.
Growers can learn how to optimize pest control from fellow farmers. “Calvin”, from AB, is an example of a grower who took the time to provide good insight in a product review posted on May 3:
- “Focus has become a very effective tool to keep kochia numbers down in Lentils. We did late fall applied Focus this year, so hoping that the minimal amount of snow that melted this spring will help activate the Focus in the drought conditions we are experiencing in South East Alberta. Looking forward to seeing the results this year.”
Each review goes through a minimal moderation filter. Crop protection companies abide by a strict code of conduct set out by the PMRA that needs to be taken into consideration, such as abiding by labeled use patterns. Other than that, reviews are approved, even if they are not favourable.
The review functionality on www.ag.fmc.com/ca/en has been open for about eight months now and the number of growers who have provided reviews is well above expectations.
“We weren’t sure how many growers would take the time to visit the site and review one of our products,” says Henry. “But not only are they reviewing products, they’re even uploading crop pictures and providing insight on product performance for other growers. We’re seeing a community being created right before our eyes.”
Topics
Species
